The war has begun and Elon Musk has fired first. The mega IPO of SpaceX, the all-encompassing technology company of the world's richest man, has opened the doors of Wall Street to generative AI. Although it is known for its rockets and defense contracts, SpaceX has housed xAI since February of this year, the company within the South African's conglomerate that manages its consumer artificial intelligence, the chatbot integrated into the X social network, Grok. Musk's public offering sets the path for the rest of the sector: a historically high capitalization target —$1.75 trillion— and billions raised to add to the immense computing investments that will be needed to cover growing demand. Following behind are Anthropic, the creator of Claude, which has the fourth quarter marked in red, and OpenAI, of ChatGPT, which left behind the legal problems with Musk and already has a clear path to join the New York stock exchange.

The market punishes Puig for broken talks for the merger with Estée Lauder. The Catalan multinational of premium beauty has plummeted more than 13% on the day after the talks ended without an agreement. At Friday's market close, the stock fell to 15.18 euros, after closing on Thursday evening at around 18 euros. With this move, the titles of the perfume multinational are moving further away from the price of the stock market debut it undertook in 2024, around 24.5 euros. Estée Lauder shares, on the contrary, show a strong recovery: around 12 noon in New York, two hours after the start of the session, they were up 9.4%, to 86.3 dollars.

The Catalan company specialized in the development of sustainable microchips, Ideaded, is already executing the investment of 9.5 million euros made by the Spanish government at the end of 2025. The firm has dedicated the public funding to expand its facilities in Viladecans (Baix Llobregat), with an improvement of its clean room. The expansion of the short-run chip manufacturing area is already in the award process, as confirmed in a statement, and will be completed in November. The intervention is part of the company's industrial and technological plan, which also includes acquisitions of machinery and new hires of specialized profiles in the world of semiconductors.

The Spanish Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar LópezSpanish Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar LópezIn his speech at the event, López called for "empowering Europe" to earn a place in "the industrial revolution that is changing the shape of the world." Although the leadership of these transitions is far from the 27 – the United States and China are benchmarks – the minister has championed a Spanish innovative fabric that "shines in disruptive technologies." In this regard, he highlighted the role of the Catalan technological institute, both in research and in the technological transfer of these new capabilities. The ICFO, he recalled, has already generated fourteen spin-off companies that are active in the market, and "projects like PIXEurope help to ensure that this trend continues."

Elon Musk is preparing a new operation to shake up Wall Street. SpaceX, his aerospace company, revealed its IPO prospectus this Wednesday. Just hours after the judicial defeat against OpenAI founder Sam Altman, the richest man in the world seeks to achieve two unprecedented milestones: SpaceX's would be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, through which it hopes to raise around 80 billion dollars; and the firm would become the first in history to assault the market with a total valuation exceeding one trillion dollars.

Among the multiple frictions that the judicial interlocutory that has led to The judge in charge of instruction court number 5 of Martorell, following the analysis of the messages between father and son, identifies a "bad relationship" caused, in part, by "Mr. Jonathan Andic's obsession with money." According to the order, however, the then CEO of Mango Man learned in mid-2024 of his father's intentions to create the foundation. Following this, the evidence obtained by the Mossos reflects a "notable change" in the detainee's behavior, who "would have acknowledged that his attitude towards money is not correct."The order links, in this sense, this change of attitude with the excursion to the caves of Collbató in which Isak Andic suffered the fatal accident.

The clothing and merchandise business has become one of the central levers of the sports economy. FC Barcelona knows this well, as it has in the Barça Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) brand one of the jewels in the entity's economic crown, with revenues last season that will break 200 million euros. So much so that fashion retail brands, both sports and general consumer, seek to control the entire market: the primary one, which operates through official or licensed stores; but also the secondary one, now concentrated on external platforms such as Wallapop, dedicated to second-hand items and products, or those outside the usual channels. It is in this effort that Drelife emerges, a start-up founded and led by former professional handball player Alberto Miralles, dedicated to building and operating "second life" channels for clothing brands that wish to access these segments.

The president of the Terrassa-based employers' association Cecot, Xavier Panés, has been confirmed as the sole candidate in the entity's elections. As reported by the Vallesana association this Wednesday, Panés's was the only proposal submitted during the formalization period, which concluded on Tuesday. The list has the backing of 100% of the Cecot assembly's endorsements, well above the 25% threshold required for anyone seeking the presidency.

Without surprises, as everything at Foment del Treball. The president of the large Catalan employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has revalidated his position without opposition, as he did in the other two electoral contests, in 2018 and 2022. Amidst a long ovation from the noble hall of the business association's headquarters, on Via Laietana; and driven by Vangelis's scores in Chariots of Fire, Sánchez Llibre has accepted the assignment in the presence of the top brass of the Catalan private sector. The new stage, the third, will last until 2030. Among others, present in the front row were the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), the main Spanish employers' association, Antonio Garamendi; the president of Banco Sabadell, Josep Oliu; or the former Spanish Minister of Employment and Social Security and president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez.

Catalan employers' associations and trade unions will participate in the decision-making of the parity consortium for investments between the State and the Generalitat. The budget agreement ratified by the Govern and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya this Tuesday foresees the creation of an advisory council to "guide the functions" of the body, as well as the investment company that must be established to guarantee its execution. This was confirmed by the executive to the most representative economic organizations –CCOO, UGT, Pimec, and Foment del Treball– in the meeting they held, the four of them, with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, and the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, this Tuesday. The representatives of workers and employers have welcomed the proposal, although they have assured that "the small print still needs to be read".

The arrest of Jonathan Andic, son of Mango founder Isak Andic, introduces a new variable into the equation that was the death of the historic Catalan fashion businessman. Andic's passing in December 2024, long treated as a tragic accident, forced a reorganization of the ownership and businesses of the Principality's fashion giant. As early as January 2025, the three children divided the executive positions of Punta Na Holding, the company that holds 95% of Mango's ownership through Mango MNG Holding; as well as the family's patrimonial company, which also operates under the same umbrella.

Ryanair completes fiscal year 2026 with a 40% jump in profit, to a record figure of 2.26 billion euros. The low-cost airline has earned 15.54 billion euros between April 2025 and March this year, 11% more than in the previous fiscal year. The economic improvements have been recorded following a 4% increase in passengers, who exceeded 208 million in the 12 recorded months.

Without surprises, as everything at Foment del Treball. The president of the large Catalan employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has revalidated his position without opposition, as he did in the last electoral contest, in 2022. Amid a long ovation from the noble hall of the business association's headquarters, on Via Laietana; and driven by Vangelis's arrangements in Chariots of Fire, Sánchez Llibre has accepted the mandate in the presence of the top figures of the Catalan private sector. The new term, the third, will last until 2030. Among others, at the front row were present the president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organizations (CEOE), the main Spanish employers' association, Antonio Garamendi; the president of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu; or the former Spanish Minister of Employment and Social Security and president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez.

Catalonia breaks the streak of monthly growth in home purchases, which had already lasted six months. According to the latest data on property rights transfers, published this Monday by the National Statistics Institute, sales have fallen by 3.5% in March compared to the same period last year. The decline in the third month of the year reverses the trend that had been maintained since the beginning of the year, with growth of 1.4% in January and more than 5.7% in February.

The oil sector has lost the hope that the war in Iran will be shortThe fuel sector is, it must be said, a sector with many intricacies. "Every gas station is a world unto itself," observes Ramon Fitó, owner of the Fitó service station in Badalona, the oldest in Catalonia. The experience, therefore, is not the same for an operator with commercial and storage capacity as it is for a small local chain. Even so, everyone who does not have their own refineries has seen their margins tighten. "We pass on the prices day by day. And, evidently, we have been forced to buy a more expensive product," observes Payá.has left Brent around $110 this weekAnomalous competition

The exceptional visit of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to China has ended without a clear path for the geopolitical tensions caused by his administration. The unfounded optimism of the New York executive has not served to calm the market: on the contrary, the end of the trip coincided, this Friday, with the most intense rise in the price of the Brent barrel of the entire week. The European reference for crude oil skyrocketed at half past five in the afternoon, approaching 109 dollars. It is already on its way to the highs since the beginning of the war, close to 115 dollars, set at the beginning of the month.

The Minister for Digital Transformation, Óscar López, has defended the Spanish government's strategy for regulating AI and digital tools. In an intervention at the first Meeting for Digital Rights, held this Thursday at the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, López assured that the executive's proposals in this regard, such as the prohibition of minors' access to social networks, are "common sense".

77% of citizens demand more regulations on the development of artificial intelligence. This is what emerges from the first Survey on the social perception of digital rights in Spain. The poll was conducted by the La Caixa Foundation, Red.es –the entity associated with the Spanish government dedicated to promoting the digital agenda– and the Hermes Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Barcelona. The document details that the majority of Spaniards want more public oversight of AI and its effects on the economy and society. In fact, more than half of respondents would prefer that the development of applications based on this technology 'slow down'. However, 49% expect it to eventually have "positive effects" for the general population.

Inter Miami footballer and Barça legend, Leo Messi, has purchased the building of the former Via Wagner galleries for 11.5 million euros. As reported by the asset seller, Santomera Bay, Alejandro Alcaraz's office, the operation was carried out through the Argentine forward's socimi, Edifici Rostower.